Prior to the emergence of wireless networks, users wishing to access the Internet from a public location—e.g., a library, an airport, a hospital waiting room, a classroom, etc.—or from their home were required to locate and connect to a physical data port, typically an RJ45 Ethernet port. The growth of wireless networking (e.g., WiFi) has significantly reduced the need for such physical data ports in residential and public buildings
Because of the rapid evolution from hard-wired to wireless networking, a large number of unused or abandoned physical Ethernet ports remain installed in many residential and public buildings that had been wired for physical networking before wireless networks became ubiquitous.
In parallel with the growth of wireless networking, personal electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, and the like have evolved to include USB ports for data connectivity and device charging. As a result of these developments, the need for physical Ethernet data ports has declined, while the need for readily available USB charging stations has increased.
The above-described deficiencies of current data and charging port architectures are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of current technology, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art, and corresponding benefits of some of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein, may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.